The MeshAdv Pi Hat is a 1 Watt LoRa hat designed to be used with the Linux-native version of Meshtastic known as meshtasticd. The board includes space for a GPS module and breakout for I2C bus. This makes for a good "base station" or "Router" node that can be mounted high on a pole and powered over POE (using separate POE adapter). No more need to retrieve the node everytime you want to update firmware, it can all be done remotely. It also makes it easy and reliable to connect to MQTT.

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Fully assembled units will be available here: https://frequencylabs.etsy.com

== NOTICE!! always have an antenna connected to the Hat when powered on, failure to do so can damage the E22 module. ==

Info

Pin#	GPIO	Pin Name	Description			Pin#	GPIO	Pin Name	Description
1		3.3V				2		5V
3	2	SDA	(I2C)			4		5V
5	3	SCL	(I2C)			6		GND
7	4	Unused				8	14	UART TX	(GPS)RX
9		GND				10	15	UART RX	(GPS)TX
11	17	Unused				12	18	RST	(LoRa)
13	27	Unused				14		GND
15	22	Unused				16	23	PPS	(GPS) Pulse Per Second
17		3.3V				18	24	Unused
19	10	MOSI	(LoRa) SPI			20		GND
21	9	MISO	(LoRa) SPI			22	25	Unused
23	11	CLK	(LoRa) SPI			24	8	Unused
25		GND				26	7	Unused
27	0	Unused				28	1	Unused
29	5	Unused				30		GND
31	6	Unused				32	12	RXEN	(LoRa) Recieve Enable
33	13	TXEN	(LoRa) Transmit Enable			34		GND
35	19	Unused				36	16	IRQ	(LoRa)
37	26	Unused				38	20	BUSY	(LoRa)
39		GND				40	21	NSS	(LoRa)

Compatibility

Raspberry Pi Model	Working?
Raspberry Pi 1 Model A	Never*
Raspberry Pi 1 Model A+	???
Raspberry Pi 1 Model B	Never*
Raspberry Pi 1 Model B+	???
Raspberry Pi 2 Model B	Yes
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B	Yes
Raspberry Pi 3 Model B+	Yes
Raspberry Pi 3 Model A+	Yes
Raspberry Pi 4 Model B	Yes
Raspberry Pi 400	Yes
Raspberry Pi 5	Yes
Raspberry Pi 500	Yes
Raspberry Pi Zero	Yes
Raspberry Pi Zero W	Yes
Raspberry Pi Zero 2 W	Yes
Raspberry Pi Pico	Never*
Raspberry Pi Pico W	Never*

*Raspberry Pi 1 Model A, 1 Model B, and Pico do not implement the 40-pin layout used in the MeshAdv Pi Hat.

Installing Meshtasticd

You can try my new Configuration Tool, It can install and configure everything you need to get up and running, otherwise continue below with the official instructions. Please note: The MeshAdv Pi Hat does not have the HAT+ eeprom, so you will see no hat detected....this is normal.

Watch this video first: How to install Meshtastic on Raspberry Pi This video covers the old method, still a good video but out of date.

Official installation instructions: [https://meshtastic.org/docs/hardware/devices/linux-native-hardware/]

Configuration

These instructions assume you are using a raspberry pi with Raspberry Pi OS.

New Method:

• As methods keep changing, please CLICK HERE for the most up to date configuration process

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Old Method:

• The old method is below and still works if you prefer it

sudo nano /etc/meshtasticd/config.yaml

add or uncomment the following lines as needed.

Lora:
  Module: sx1262  # Ebyte E22-900M30S and E22-900M33S choose only one module at a time
# Module: sx1268  # Ebyte E22 400M30S and E22-400M33S
  CS: 21
  IRQ: 16
  Busy: 20
  Reset: 18
  TXen: 13
  RXen: 12
  DIO3_TCXO_VOLTAGE: true
  # SX126X_MAX_POWER: 8  # 8=33dBm output. Ebyte E22-900M33S and E22-400M33S only

GPS:
  SerialPath: /dev/ttyS0
#  SerialPath: /dev/ttyAMA0 # For Raspberry Pi 5

I2C:
  I2CDevice: /dev/i2c-1

Logging:
  LogLevel: info # debug, info, warn, error

Webserver:
  Port: 443 # Port for Webserver & Webservices
  RootPath: /usr/share/meshtasticd/web # Root Dir of WebServer

General:
  MaxNodes: 200

LoRa Setup:

• You must now set the LoRa Region to be able to start using Meshtastic. CLICK HERE for info on how to set region settings. Please note: Linux-Native is currently unable to connect over bluetooth or to the Apple app. All other methods are working.

GPS

• Jumper J3 is used to select either 3.3v or 5v to the GPS
• The recommended GPS is the ATGM336H module. With it you can utilize the PPS output for very precise time keeping, useful for running an NTP server alongside Meshtastic.
• You can use any GPS that outputs NMEA sentences using UART.
• Start by following the official instructions to get the GPS working with meshtasticd CLICK HERE
• PPS output: Starting 1/1/25 all V1.1 boards have GPS PPS routed to GPIO 23 (pin 16).